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Digitise-it.com Ltd
SPECIALISTS IN ARCHIVAL
DOCUMENT AND BOOK DIGITISING

The total solution to digitising
Either we do it for you, or you do it and we show you how.

Single Sheet Document Scanning

Single sheets can range from a small index card up to A1, in bitonal (black & white), greyscale, or full colour. (In the near future we shall also be able to offer A0 scanning - please enquire for further details).

Note: many scanning bureaus put single sheets through an automatic document feed scanner. We do not. Our customers want the best possible scans, which are straight, no matter how crumpled the originals, and they don't want their documents chewed up by an automatic sheet feed scanner! We always scan single sheets on one of the Bookeye scanners. Carefully. One at a time, so that there is no risk of damage.

In this category, we also include photograph scanning. (For bound photo albums, see Book and Bound Document Scanning)

click for a larger image

Click on the thumbnails for a larger image.
(Opens in a new window)
These images were scanned from colour prints.

 click for a larger image

When scanning index cards, if they are typewritten, then it is possible to digitise them in bitonal (black & white), but if there are also additional annotations such as pencil and coloured ink, then they would be better scanned in greyscale or colour. Double sided index cards present no problem, but each side counts as a separate scan).

The scanning of old deeds, wills, etc. (even where the originals are vellum) is one of our specialities. We do not completely flatten folded documents such as this. They tend to have "memory folds", and we consider that it is inappropriate to force the folds completely flat. Instead, we spread them carefully, and then hold down the edges on the scanner bed using padded magnetic bars.

We can scan where these is no ink! For example, this embossed seal.
Faded ink and pencil presents no problem. In fact, on this scan you can even see the watermark lines in the paper. (That's where the paper pulp was laid onto fine wires to dry).

One of the "difficult" jobs is where a multi-page document is held together at one corner with a wax seal. This has always presented a problem to archivists who want copies made, because any "photocopier" method would break the seal. However, we can overcome that problem easily. A scan is first made of the front page, and then the sheet is carefully lifted up only enough to read the second and following sheets. Because the Bookeye scanner is really like an overhead camera, there is no need to fold the front page away. Just into a near vertical position, which is sufficient to get a "good sight" of the following pages for the camera. And the wax seal is safe.

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